UNITED STATES

U.S. lawmakers approved late on Wednesday an amendment to a controversial climate change bill that would give federal regulators greater authority to combat manipulation in natural gas and carbon markets.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Britain to negative on Thursday, citing government debt that would be hard to rein in and political uncertainty about the policy response with an election looming.

Stock index futures declined on Thursday as doubts about a quick economic rebound fueled a global equity selloff, while Britain's reduced rating outlook pointed to more fallout from the credit crisis.

U.S. banks have been able to raise many billions of dollars in the past few weeks by selling shares to investors, but the jury is still out on whether this is the savviest of smart money -- or just plain dumb.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy and financial markets had improved but warned that banks faced a capital shortfall, which could stall lending and obstruct a recovery, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Oil fell more than a dollar to below $61 a barrel on Thursday, after hitting a six-month high in the previous session.

The head of Fiat SpA said it had more than a 50 percent chance of succeeding in its bid for Opel, adding that the other contenders did not have the expertise to save the struggling car maker, according to a newspaper report.

World stocks slipped from this week's six-month peak and the dollar fell to its lowest in almost five months on Thursday after the Federal Reserve lowered its forecast of U.S. economic growth for the next three years.

Oil was steady under $62 a barrel on Thursday, after rallying to a six-month high on Wednesday, as government data showed a steep drop in U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles ahead of the summer driving season.

The dollar hit its lowest in almost five months and Asian stocks slipped on Thursday after news that the Federal Reserve lowered its forecasts for U.S. economic growth for the next three years.

The pursuit of German carmaker Opel has narrowed to a three-way race between Italy's Fiat , Canadian-Austrian car parts group Magna and investment firm RHJ International.

A bill restricting credit card practices won the final approval of the U.S. congress and is now expected to be signed into law by President Barack Obama as soon as Friday.

(Corrects Nikkei point loss in paragraph 10)

Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 1.2 percent on Thursday, with Honda Motor Co and other exporters down as the yen climbed to a 2-month high on the dollar and after the Federal Reserve cut its outlook for the U.S. economy. Tech shares fell in the wake of losses by their U.S. peers, with Sony Corp dropping 1.6 percent, despite saying it plans to halve the number of it...

Regulators have questioned former Lehman Brothers Holdings executives over their marketing of auction-rate securities, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 1.2 percent on Thursday, with Honda Motor Co and other exporters down as the yen climbed to a two-month high on the dollar after the Federal Reserve cut its outlook for the U.S. economy.

Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 1.5 percent on Thursday, with Honda Motor Co and other exporters down as the yen climbed to a 2-month high on the dollar after the Federal Reserve cut its outlook for the U.S. economy.

Regions Financial Corp and Fifth Third Bancorp announced plans on Wednesday to sell stock, the eighth and ninth of the 10 large U.S. banks ordered by federal regulators to bolster their finances to announce capital-raising plans.

Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped 0.6 percent on Thursday, as the yen rose to a fresh two-month high against the dollar weighing on Toyota Motor Corp and other exporters.

Bank of America Corp wants to pay back $45 billion in bail-out funds by the end of the year, accelerated by a program to raise capital, the Financial Times reported on its website late on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it saw modest improvements in the U.S. economy last month, but it still saw big risks and left open the possibility of increasing its purchases of mortgage-related and government debt to keep credit flowing and spur recovery.